Bae

Pronounce it as a single syllable with the diphthong /eɪ/ after a voiced /b/ onset: /beɪ/. Start with a light /b/ release, then glide from /e/ to /ɪ/ toward a smooth, closing vowel, ending with a crisp /ɪ/ or near-close offglide depending on speed. In casual speech, you’ll often hear it reduced to /beɪ/ with minimal mouth movement. Audio reference: think of “bay” in English, with a slightly longer vowel in careful speech.

Common errors include mispronouncing the diphthong as a pure /eː/ or /æ/ vowel, or articulating a hard stop after /b/. Correct it by ensuring a brief /b/ onset, then smoothly glide from /e/ to /ɪ/ without a strong consonant break. Keep lips relaxed and avoid nasalization. Practice with minimal pairs like /beɪ/ vs /baɪ/ to feel the glide.

In US, UK, and AU accents, /beɪ/ remains the core diphthong, but vowel quality shifts subtly: US often has a more centralized offglide, UK may have a tighter /eɪ/ with less jaw drop, and AU tends to be flatter with a slightly more relaxed tongue position. All share a rhotic optionality in some dialects, but /beɪ/ is generally non-rhotic in traditional British pronunciation and rhotic-like in some Australian speech depending on speaker.

The challenge lies in producing a clean /b/ onset followed by a precise /eɪ/ glide within a single syllable, without elongating the vowel or inserting a break. Rapid speech hides the diphthong’s shift; you must coordinate lip rounding and tongue height to maintain /beɪ/ rather than stopping at /be/ or shifting to /biː/. Practicing with slow tempo helps stabilize the glide and timing.

Stress is typically light and falls evenly across the single syllable, with primary weight on the onset /b/ becoming less intense in casual talk. The vowel glide remains central to the sound, so you’ll hear a gentle shift from /b/ to /eɪ/ rather than a clipped /beɪ/ with equal emphasis on both parts. Variation can occur with extended vowels in emphatic speech, but natural usage favors a concise /beɪ/.